Methods in Immunology for Brucella Abortus

Bovine in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) of the United States are consistently exposed to Brucella abortus. This bacterium has been known to cause abortions in cattle resulting in an economic loss to the owner and operator. The current veterinary vaccine, B. abortus RB51, is inadequate in giving broad host range protection against infection in domestic livestock. A complete understanding of how the vaccine strain, RB51 when given in a single dose, affects the immune response of cattle, Bos taurus. We propose to study the effects of multiple doses of RB51 in cattle. This study focuses on the methods needed to continue this research and move toward quantifying the results of vaccination of cattle against the Brucella abortus. This is a presentation of the methods developed to aid in that study.